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(Photo: Reuters/Fred Prouser)Actress Angelina Jolie smiles with her partner Brad Pitt as they arrive at the 23rd annual Producers Guild Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., Jan. 21, 2012. Jolie, who directed and produced the film "In The Land of Blood and Honey," and other producers of the film received the Stanley Kramer Award at the event.

In a candid interview Etheridge, who performed at Pitt's 2000 wedding to Jennifer Aniston, suggested that Jolie's double mastectomy was "fearful" and not "brave." Jolie was widely applauded for undergoing the surgery along with breast reconstruction after learning that she had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer however Etheridge appeared to hold a different view on the preventative measure.

"I have to say I feel a little differently. I have that gene mutation too, and it's not something I would believe in for myself," Etheridge, who like Jolie tested positive for the BRCA 1 gene, told the Washington Blade.

"I wouldn't call it the brave choice. I actually think it's the most fearful choice you can make when confronting anything with cancer," she continued.

REUTERS/Danny MoloshokSinger Melissa Etheridge

Pitt, who previously hailed Jolie as "heroic" after she shared her experience in a New York Times Op-Ed, was asked about Etheridge's comment on June 17. Critics accused the rock musician, 52, of taking a dig at Jolie, 37, by suggesting that her decision was not "brave."

"I don't know...Somebody just said that," Pitt, who was unaware of Etheridge's comments, told Us magazine at the "World War Z" premiere in New York City June 17

"Melissa's an old friend of mine. I'm sure we'll talk on the phone. I don't know what it is," he explained.

Etheridge also shared her controversial views on how cancer forms in the body. The Grammy award-winning artist and cancer survivor attributed the sometimes fatal disease to "stress" and "environment."

"My belief is that cancer comes from inside you, and so much of it has to do with the environment of your body. It's the stress that will turn that gene on or not. Plenty of people have the gene mutation and everything, but it never comes to cancer," she said.

"I've been cancer free for nine years now, and looking back, I completely understand why I got cancer," she continued adding "There was so much acidity in everything. I really encourage people to go a lot longer and further before coming to that conclusion [of a mastectomy]."

In February Jolie opted to have a double mastectomy after doctors estimated that the mother-of-six had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer. She began the initial removal on Feb. 16 and underwent the reconstruction surgery on April 20.

"I am writing about it now because I hope that other women can benefit from my experience. Cancer is still a word that strikes fear into people's hearts, producing a deep sense of powerlessness," Jolie wrote in May.

"But today it is possible to find out through a blood test whether you are highly susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer, and then take action," she added.

Jolie's late mother, Marcheline Bertrand, died from ovarian cancer in 2007 at the age of 56.